Strand and material formed from the same



March 26, 1935. y R. N. wALLAcH STRAND AND MATERIAL FORMED FROM THE SAMEFiled March 24, 1932 INVENTOR i065? All/,41mm

BY mm M6 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 26. 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICESTRAND AND MATERIAL FORMED FROM THE SAME Roger N. Wallach, BriarcliffManor, N. Y., as-

sgnor to Sylvania Industrial Corporation, Fredericksburg, Va., acorporation of Virginia Application March 24, 1932, Serial No. 600,974

9 Claims. (Cl. 117-452) The invention relates to an article of manu-Strips of a suitable width are out from sheets facture made of acellulosic material, and more or rolls and wound, convolved, folded,plaited or particularly to a new and distinctive type of braided, andtwisted around themselves or asuitfabric and the material from which itis fashable core to form a strand or thread of comparaioned. tivelylarge cross-section as regards the thickness 5 Bands of cellulosematerial adapted for emof the original strip, and of marked resiliencyand broidery, weaving, knitting, and the like are disdurability. Thestrands thus formed may be closed in the Brandenberger PatentNo.1,406,148, woven, braided or otherwise worked to form a datedFebruary '7, 1922. The bands disclosed fabric.

lll' therein are formed by cutting bands of non- The strands may be usedeither in their natural 1o fibrous cellulosic material to the dimensionsrecolor or dyed, or the nished fabric may be dyed. quired for the finalproduct and by folding the In the weaving or braiding any design orpatresulting cut band onto itself so as to obtain two tern may beobtained by methods known in texlongitudinal edges by the foldingoperation, tile weaving, or a suitable design may be printed l5 whichedges are other than the edges obtained upon the nished fabric. A fabricthus formed l5 by cutting the band. has been found to Ibe particularlysuitable as a;

The present invention distinguishes from prior rug or floor covering inthat it possesses a very practice in that a new strand is formed whichis attractive appearance, lays well without buckling stronger,-and ofgreater body and resiliency, and or warping, and is highly resistant towear.

26 which may be utilized in the manufacture of a For a fullerunderstanding of the nature and 20 fabric, e, g. oor covering, having adistinctively objects of the invention reference should be had novelappearance and a high wear-resistance to the following detaileddescription taken in surface. Further distinguishing features will beconnection with the accompanying drawing, in evident from the followingdescription. which:

It is an object of the invention to provide a Fie. 1 representsastripformed fromacellulosic 25 thread or strand, produced from a cellulosicmamaterial from which the threads or strands o'f terial, possessing therequisite flexibility, strength the present invention are prepared; anddurability s'o that it may be woven. braided Fig. 2 illustrates aportion of a strand formed or otherwise worked into a fabric, rug or thelike. by. tightly twisting the strip of Fig. l about its It is a furtherobject of the invention to provide` longitudinal aXS; 30 a material, forexample a rug or floor covering Fig. 3 illustrates a portion of a strandof a which is woven, braided or otherwise formed from cellulosicmaterial formed by twisting the strip threads or strands composed ofcellulosic matem of Fig. l about an axis which lies at an angle to rialand characterized by a high resistance to the longitudinal axis of thestrip;

wear and an attractive appearance. Fig. i represents a portion oi' astrand made by 35 Other objects of the invention will in part be foldingthe strip of Fig. 1 along certain longiobvious and will in part appearhereinafter. tudinal lines and accomplishing a twist around Theinvention accordingly comprises an article the longitudinal axisthereof; of manufacture possessing the features, proper- Fig. 5illustrates a strand formed of the folded 4o ties, and the relation ofelements which will be strip of Fig. 4 twisted about an axis which liesat 40 exemplified in the article hereinafter described an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the strip. and the scope of the application ofwhich will be Fig. 6 illustrates a strand formed by convolutindicated inthe claims. l ing the strip of Fig. l and subsequently twisting In thepractice of the invention, a strand or the convoluted strip;

thread from which my novel material or article Fig. l represents astrand containing a core of 45 is woven, or otherwise formed may be madefrom extraneous material, the strip of Fig. l being a non-fibrouscellulosic material such as material twisted therewith; formed fromviscose, regenerated cellulose, Fig. 8 illustrates a strand composed oftwo methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and other cellustrips of the shapeof the strip of Fig. 1, the

lose ethers; cellulose esters as cellulose-acetate strips being ofcontrasting colors and twisted toand other cellulose derivatives, whichmay be in gether to obtain a barber-pole effect;

sheet form or in rolls. 'Ihe above materials will Fig. 9 represents across-section of the untwistbe hereinafter referred to in both. thedescriped portion of. the strand of Fig. 5 taken on the tion oftheinvention and the claims as celluline 9-*9,1ooking in the direction ofthe arrows; losic material. Fig. 10 represents a cross-section of thestrand of Fig. 6, taken on the line 10-10 to show the manner in whichthe strip is convoluted;

Fig. 11 illustrates a portion of a fabric adapted for a floor coveringand formed by weaving strands of a cellulosic material, the strands usedto form the warp being of a color contrasting with the strands used toform the weft;

Fig. 12 illustrates a portion of a fabric or floor covering formed byweaving the strands of a cellulosic material as the weft and using anextraneous material as the warp or vice versa.; and

Fig. 13 illustrates a fioor covering formed by braiding the cellulosicstrands around threads or strands of extraneous material.

With specific reference to Fig. 1, reference numeral 11 designates astrip of cellulosic material defined by lateral edges 12 and 13 andlongitudinal edges 14 and l5. While these edges have been shown as beingstraight and at right angles to one another, this is not essential tothe formation of the thread or strand since the shape and size of thestrip may be varied within comparatively wide limits and excellentresults still obtained.

There are many methods of utilizing the strip 11 in the manufacture ofstrands or threads. Figs. 2-8 inclusive illustrate some of the varioustypes of strands obtainable.

The strand 16 of Fig. 2 is formed by twisting the strip l1 across itsbreadth so that the line of twist follows the longitudinal axis of thestrip designated by the dotted line 17. By way of illustration, aportion 18 of the strand 16 is shown in Fig. 2 as untwisted toillustrate the manner in which the strand proper is formed.

The twisting of the strand need not be confined to a line along thelongitudinal axis but may be at an angle thereto. For instance in Fig.3, a strand 19 is shown wherein a strip 1l has been twisted along anaxis lying at an angle to the line 17 (Fig. l) an untwisted portion ofthe strip being designated at 21.

It is preferable to fold the strip l before twisting and obtain strandsof the types shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In either case, a strip 1l issuitably folded as for instance by folding along the line 17 and thendoubling each of the folded portions back upon itself. The folding anddoubling produces a strip having a cross-section as that shown in Fig. 9which has been enlarged for clarity of description. A strip so formedmay be twisted around its own longitudinal axis to form the strand 22 ofFig. 4.'or it may be twisted on a line lying at an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the strip to form the strand 23, illustrated inFig. 5.

In forming the thread or strand of Fig. 6, the sheet of material l1 isrolled or convolved upon itself starting with either longitudinal edge14 or longitudinal edge 15. One longitudinal edge 14 of the sheet may befolded back and forth to produce a plurality of pleats to form thenucleus of a core and the material is then wrapped around it in a seriesof convolutions. The material is wrapped to form a substantially compactmass but a sufficient amount of slack to provide an air space betweenthe adjacent layers may be left if desired to increase the irldescenceof the strand.

The completed thread or strand 24, shown in Fig. 6, is of considerablethioknessas regards the original strip 11 and in cross-section issubstantially circular as shown in Fig. 10, although it is to beunderstood that it may be pressed or rolled into any particular shape incross-section that may be desired. The strand may then be twisted ifdesired so that the outermost longitudinal edge 15 forms a helix withrespect to the body of the strand.

If desired, the strand 24 may be differently formed in that it is notwound around a longitudinal edge such as edge 14 of the sheet 11, but iswound around a core. This core may be of stiff material or it may beflexible. Preferably, the core is formed from an extraneous materialwhich may be a textile material, for example a twine of cotton, jute,hemp, wool or silk, or a metallic wire or strand, but the core mayconsist of a strand of a non-fibrous cellulosic material produced asdescribed above.

In Fig. 7, a strand 25 is shown which is prepared by twisting a strip 11around a core 26 of extraneous material of the type described inconnection with the strand of" Fig. 6. The material used, for instance,a metal wire, is laid along the line 17 of the strip 11 and the striptwisted about the wire, or it may be placed in other positions upon thestrip l1 and the strip wrapped therearound as a tape.

The threads or strands thus formed need not be of one color, but may beformed of a plurality of colors as exemplified by the strand 27 of Fig.8. Two strips 1l of different colors or shades are twisted together sothat each band assumes the form of a helix and a barberpole effect isproduced, each band 28 being located between differently colored bands29.

While the strands of Figs. 2 to 8 inclusive have been described as beingtwisted, it will be realized that they may be formed in other ways, forinstance by plaiting or braiding a plurality of strips together. Suchcombinations need not be confined to strips of one color, but the stripsmay be of various colors whereby attractive and pleasing effects areobtained.

The strands, thus formed, may be of any suitable length and thickness,depending upon the purpose for which they are to be utilized. Forinstance in forming a light weight pliable fabric, a thread ofcomparatively small diameter would be used whereas in forming a rug orfloor covering wherein the weaving is rather coarse, the threads orstrands would be of a larger size. If the threads are not wound tootightly, the successive layers of material together with the air spaceswhich are formed between them by the loose winding, form a succession ofiridescent layers which add to the attractiveness.

The threads or strands of cellulosic material formed in any of the abovedescribed ways, may be woven into a fabric. A portion of such a fabricis illustrated in Fig. 1l. In this example, the warp 3l and the weft 32are both formed of strands of cellulosic material, which results in adurable, relatively stiff fabric particularly suitable as a rug, mat orlike floor covering. As shown the warp strands 3l differ in color fromthe weft strands 32 thereby giving an attractive design. This featuremay be extended to the use of strands of various colors in the weavingof designs and patterns containing many colors by methods well known tothe textile art. Or a material may be formed of strands of one color anddyed or printed upon after completion.

Fig. 12 illustrates a rug or mat formed by using either a warp or weftof cellulosic material, this warp or weft being used in combination witha weft or warp of an extraneous material such as a textile material, forexample a'cotton twine, wool, silk, rayon, linen, fiax, jute, ramie andthe like, or other suitable material e. g. reed. willow, metal wire,paper and the like or combinations thereof. For instance, in Fig. 12,the weft strands 42 are cotton and the warp strands 41 are cellulosicmaterial strands.

Fig. 13 shows a braided fabric formed from warp strands 51 of cellulosicmaterial and braiding strands 52. The warp and braiding strands may bothbe cellulosic material,` or one may be of an extraneous material asabove described.

'I'he foregoing procedures provide threads, or strands of cellulosicmaterial which may be formed from strips of odd-sized and waste materialand possess the requisite tensile strength, resiliency, flexibility andresistance to wear as to be particularly suitable for the fabricationand utilization as a floor covering. The threads or strands may beusedeither in hand looms or in mechanical looms,'the lengths andcross-section of the threads being varied as desired for the particularpurpose.

The methods herein described of twisting the cellulosic strips producestrands which are not only resilient in the direction of theircrosssection but are also expansible and contractible along theirlongitudinal axes, the twisted layers having a tendency to slip alongone another. Thus when the twisted strands are woven, braided orotherwise worked, the article formed has an inherent resiliency.

This resiliency also helps to preserve the shape of the article since itassists in bringing the strands back into their original positions afterthey have been displaced.

Rugs and floor coverings produced as described have a distinctivebrilliant and attractive appearance, possess exceptional wearingproperties, and resist tearing and mechanical stress. They can be mademoisture-resistant, which feature renders them exceedingly superior tostraw, cane, rattan and the like for seat, floor and upholsterycoverings. When made from celluloseacetate, they have the addedadvantage of being substantially non-inflammable.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and differentembodiments of the invention could be made without departing from thescope thereof, it is mtended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of` the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. v

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a resilient, relatively plastic strandadapted to be woven, braided or otherwise made into a fabric, saidstrand comprising a folded and twisted strip formed of a non-fibrouscellulosic material, the layers of said strand being free to sliprelative to one another and having air spaces therebetween.

2. As an article of manufacture, a lresilient relatively plastic strandadapted to be woven,-

braided or otherwise made into a fabric, said strand comprising a.folded and twisted strip of regenerated cellulose, the layers of saidstrand being free to slip relative to one another and having air spacestherebetween.

3. As an article of manufacture, a resilien relatively plastic strandadapted to be woven, braided or otherwise made into a fabric, saidstrand comprising a convoluted and twisted strip of a non-fibrouscellulosic material, the layers of said strand being free to sliprelative to one another and having air spaces therebetween.

4. As an article of manufacture, a resilient relatively plastic strandadapted to be woven, braided or otherwise made into a fabric, said*strand comprising a convoluted and twisted strip of regeneratedcellulose, the layers of said strand being free to slip relative to oneanother and having air spaces therebetween.

5. As an article of manufacture, a resilient relatively plastic strandadapted to be woven, braided or otherwise made into a fabric, saidstrand comprising a folded and twisted strip formed from a non-fibrouscellulosic material and an extraneous material, the layers of saidstrand being free to slip relative to one another and having air spacestherebetween.

6. As an article of manufacture, a resilient, relatively plastic strandadapted to be woven, braided or otherwise made into a fabric, saidstrand comprising a narrowed folded and twisted strip of a non-fibrouscellulosic material surrounding a flexible core, the layers of saidstrand being free to slip relative to one another and having air spacestherebetween.

7. As an article of manufacture, a strand adapted to be woven, braidedor otherwise made into a fabric, said strand comprising a, folded andtwisted strip of regenerated cellulose wound around a core comprising atwisted strip of regenerated cellulose, the layers of said strand beingfree to slip relative to one another and having air spaces therebetween.

8. As an article of manufacture, a strand adapted to be woven, braidedor otherwise made into a fabric, said strand comprising a folded andtwisted strip of regenerated cellulose wound about `,a core comprising aflexible metallic wire, the layers of said strand being free to sliprelative to one another and having air spaces therebetween.

9. As an article of manufacture, a strand adapted to be woven, braidedor otherwise made into a fabric, said strand comprising a plurality ofnarrowed folded and twisted strips of a nonbrous cellulosic materialwound about a core, the layers of said strand being free to sliprelative to one another and having air spaces therebetween.

ROGER N. WALLACH.

